Pink Gin recipe
2 oz. Plymouth Gin (traditionally, but any gin you enjoy neat will work well)
4 dashes of Angostura bitters.
Build over rocks in highball glass. Add gin. Add bitters. Gently stir. Optionally garnish with a lemon twist.
Gin recommendations
The cocktail began as the “Plymouth Gin Cocktail,” so it’s natural to recommend Plymouth as your gin of choice.
Overall, almost any good Martini gin or gin that you like sipping neat will work here. I recommend a classic style gin with a hint of citrus in its botanical bill— try a Pink Gin with Beefeater.
Pink Gin history
Not always formally referred to by its modern name, the idea of bitters as a way of flavoring gin was common. (From the Norfolk Circuit. Apr. 5, 1851)
The combination of bitters and gin was widely associated with Plymouth. George J Kappeler’s Modern American Drinks (1895) simply called it the Plymouth Gin cocktail. Many early versions used Peychaud’s Bitters or Citrus bitters.
Cocktail from The Savoy Cocktail Book (1930).
Plymouth began marketing itself as the gin for Pink Gin in the 1950’s. (From The Sunday Times, Oct. 16, 1955)
